The Electric Building Apartments

Historic Redevelopment & Phased Delivery of a 120-Unit Apartment Building

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland Construction, Inc. was the construction manager for the historic adaptive reuse conversion and redevelopment of the former United Church of Christ Building in Downtown Cleveland into The Electric Building Apartments. The project included converting the former downtown office building into a 120-unit multifamily residential property with ground-floor commercial space.

The existing 9-story, 124,170 square-foot building includes brick masonry perimeter bearing walls with internal steel columns and beams. Floor and roof construction consisted of terracotta tile flat arches between steel beams with concrete topping slabs, typical of the original construction period. The building also includes a basement level and a mezzanine between floors one and two.

Cleveland Construction provided construction management services throughout the multi-phase office-to-multifamily conversion. Early phases of work included selective interior demolition, decommissioning of the existing west-side elevator shaft, structural infill work, and construction of a new stair shaft serving all floors to meet current life safety requirements.

The redevelopment included:

• Conversion of upper floors into 120 apartment units
• New MEPFP systems throughout the building
• New elevator systems and modernization work
• Structural modifications and floor infills
• New corridors, demising walls, and interior framing
• Roof-level mechanical upgrades
• Ground-floor commercial and tenant support spaces
• Historic exterior restoration and rehabilitation work

Historic restoration work was completed in accordance with preservation requirements and included masonry restoration, ornamental concrete repairs, storefront improvements, and replication of historic architectural elements.

A major focus of the project was construction logistics and phased turnover planning. Cleveland Construction developed an early logistics strategy that coordinated the full interior build-out, vertical transportation, workforce access, MOT setup, and phased construction sequencing within the occupied downtown area. Exterior hoist systems and interior access platforms were installed early in the project to support efficient movement of crews and materials throughout the structure.

The construction team also implemented a phased turnover approach that allowed apartment units to be completed and turned over to ownership by floor, supporting phased occupancy while construction continued in the higher floors of the building.

Through detailed preconstruction planning, sequencing, and field coordination, the project achieved substantial completion 1-month ahead of the original construction schedule.